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Headlines:
"Consumer Groups, Doctors Enraged Ephedra Products
Have Not Been Banned" |
September 2001, Public Citizen petitioned that all ephedrine
products be banned, and in June 2002, the Health
and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced instead
of deciding on that petition the government had hired Rand Corp.
to review all scientific reports on ephedra's safety. The ephedra
report results are due in the fall of 2002, and the FDA has
put off a decision until at least then. This decision not to
ban ephedra infuriated consumer advocates and doctors who have
wanted ephedra banned due to the high number of adverse
effects, described by a doctor as "a black day
in medicine." An analysis in the New England Journal of
Medicine in 2000 said at least 54 deaths and about 1,000 reports
of complications had been linked to ephedra since the mid 1990s,
and there are currently 100 reported deaths. 
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Ephedra Side Effects News
Jan 29, 2008
Children’s Cold Medications Containing Ephedrine
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 1 billion people will suffer from a cold at some point this year.
Read Full Article...
Oct 2 , 2007
Children’s Medicine Containing Ephedrine Questioned
A safety review that was recently released by the FDA warns parents and doctors to think twice before giving children cold and cough medicines.
Read Full Article...
Aug 21 , 2007
Major Lawsuit Filed Against Pharmaceutical Company
A group of attorney’s from Batesville, Arkansas are currently involved in a major lawsuit they’ve filed against pharmaceutical companies that are suspected of profiting from drugs containing ephedrine.
Read Full Article...
lickereororephedrineideffectsewsDeath
of Major League Baseball Player Casts Shadow on Ephedra
Considered more dangerous than anabolic steroids by
many, the death of Steve Bechler on February
17, 2003 brought attention to already controversial
issue of the dangers of stimulants like ephedra. Ephedra
can be extremely dangerous because of the acute adverse
effects that it can cause. The ephedra has been and
is used by athletes because it will allow the athlete
to not feel as fatigued as they normally would, which
can cause them to overextend themselves and ignore signs
that would indicate adverse effects.
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CLICK HERE FOR RECENT EPHEDRA DEVELOPMENTS
There are three billion servings of ephedra consumed
yearly, an extremely popular stimulant contained in
diet pills and sports drinks. Due to its classification
as a food, ephedra is exempt from FDA regulation despite
adverse
side effects of ephedra received since 1994, linking
the supplement to chest pain, myocardial infarction,
hepatitis, stroke, seizures, psychosis, and death. The
FDA has now collected reports of over 100 deaths due
to the use of ephedra-containing products, and consumer
advocates and doctors are outraged that the supplement
has not yet been banned. Public Citizen consumer group
petitioned to have ephedra banned in September 2001,
and the decision to instead review all scientific reports
on ephedra's safety before ruling on the petition prompted
the group to label the HHS and FDA as "cowards"
for not taking a more deliberate stance.
The nation's largest selling ephedra-containing
product, Metabolife, is now under criminal investigation
to determine if Metabolife International and former
Metabolife president and co-founder lied when telling
the FDA they had not received any reports of adverse
Metabolife health effects. The FDA has been trying
to collect reports from Metabolife as far back as 1997
but said the company "refused and resisted us every
step of the way". A pharmacologist hired by the
FDA in 1995 to analyze the sudden increase of deaths
and heart problems in teenagers whom had taken ephedra
was surprised after he reported his findings to the
FDA when the agency did not move quickly to restrict
ephedra and largely attributes this to the FDA being
"under pressure from the powerful ephedra industry".
For
more information on ephedrine side effects, contact
an Ephedrine Lawyer and learn more about your legal
rights.
2 videos on the
dangers of Ephedra
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On April 10, 1996, the FDA warned consumers to
avoid purchasing ephedra dietary supplements with
labels that were named similar to illegal street
drugs, like "ecstasy" due to the significant
health
risk to consumers. The ephedra
containing products insinuated they could
produce effects of euphoria, increased sexual
sensations, heightened awareness, increased energy,
and other effects. The alternatives were aimed
a younger crowd promising a natural high similar
to the illegal drugs. In the September 1994 FDA
Medical Bulletin, a stimulant "overdose"
syndrome was reported in children and teenagers
using the ephedra-containing
products attributed to the increased marketing
of the products.
In the April 10, 1996 FDA statement the agency
claimed they were "committed to taking whatever
action is necessary to remove dangerous products
from the market" but indicated that "under
recent amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, the agency has to act product-by-product
and the legal burden is now on the FDA to show
that a marketed product is unsafe, rather than
on the company to gain FDA approval by showing
that the product is safe before it is marketed."
The FDA was later able to have the ephedra
products red-flagged as having potential for
abuse because they were promoted for recreational
use and were packaged as what the government calls
"street drug alternatives".
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The recent announcement that the Justice Department
has opened a criminal
investigation to determine whether Metabolife
International lied when telling the FDA it had
received no reports of adverse
health effects with its ephedra-containing
weight-loss product came after years of FDA attempts
to receive adverse health reports from the company.
In 1994, the FDA Medical Bulletin reported they
had "been receiving increasing numbers of
reports recently of adverse events associated
with the use of certain products marketed as dietary
supplements for weight loss, energy, and erogenic
(performance-enhancing) and body-building
purposes".
The FDA did nothing despite the serious
side effects, including chest pain, myocardial
infarction, hepatitis, stroke, seizures, psychosis,
and death, in addition to the stimulant "overdose"
syndrome reported in children and teenagers using
the ephedrine
products because of the deregulation of herbal
products like ephedrine because of its derivation
from plants. Although the FDA reported they were
"concerned about the seriousness of these
reported adverse
events and their increasing number",
the agency could only encourage reporting adverse
effects to its' MedWatch Program and warning ephedrine
is "commonly marketed as dietary supplements,
there is little or no premarket review by FDA
of their safety (or effectiveness), no good dosing
information, and no monitoring advice."
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Raymond Woosley is a pharmacologist hired by the FDA
in 1995 to analyze the sudden increase in deaths
and heart problems in teenagers who had taken ephedra
though after he reported his findings to the FDA they
would quickly move to restrict ephedra. This has still
not happened and Woosley thinks it has a lot to do with
the FDA being "under pressure from the powerful
ephedra industry." Metabolife International is
currently under criminal investigation. A few years
back, in a December 25, 2000 Washington Post article,
it was reported that Metabolife had, as of October 1,
2000, donated $638,000 to federal campaigns. This high
sum of donations ranked Metabolife the seventh among
all pharmaceutical companies nationwide.
In Texas, the state health department had been trying
to more tightly regulate ephedra, and Metabolife spent
over $4 million between 1998-2000 to lobby against state
regulations. Metabolife ranked fourth in state soft
money contributions in California, with $493,000 in
2000 and a $100,000 donation to Governor Gray Davis'
campaign. Davis was recently criticized for waiting
to veto state legislation imposing restrictions on ephedra
use recently because of the large donation he had received
from Metabolife in the past. In addition, in September
2000, a donation to Hillary Clinton was controversial
after a $25,000 gift from Metabolife increased their
donations sum to Clinton's campaign to $50,000 in soft
money.
For
more information on ephedra side effects, contact
an Ephedra Lawyer and learn more about your legal
rights.
Ephedra -Ephedrine News
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Ephedra, the herbal supplement that has been linked to heart attack, stroke and sudden death, has officially been banned by the U.S. Government.
» read more |
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In May 2001, the NFL was the first professional sports league to ban the use of ephedra
» read more |
For
more information on the dangers of ephedrine containing products
contact us
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The future of Metabolife continues to be investigated,
but already a growing list of organizations has banned
ephedra-based products
» read more |
-› Metabolife Quick Facts
Metabolife contains ephedra, an herbal stimulant
taken from an evergreen plant found in Central Asia. Ephedra
is an herbal remedy in China used for more than 2,000 years
and is currently available in the U.S., China, and Europe.
Ephedra
stimulant effects include a low appetite, high alertness,
blood pressure and heart rate, and restlessness.
2002 Ephedra Statistics
U.S. poison-control centers reported that in 2002, 1,178
ephedra side effects were recorded, in addition to at least
100 ephedra linked deaths.
Effects of Ephedra
For years various groups have been battling to get the FDA
to remove ephedra-containing products from the market, however
since herbal supplements are not federally regulated the
attempts thus far have been unsuccessful. The dangers
ephedra pose are especially heightened when used for
the athletic enhancements it is advertised to create, which
is why the NFL, International Olympic Committee, and the
NCAA have all banned ephedra use already.
Ephedra is so dangerous because it raises
the metabolic rate at levels even higher than normal exercise
induced rates in warm weather. With the use of ephedra,
it interferes with the body’s ability to break up
heat. Most ephedra-containing products also have caffeine
in them, which further dehydrates the body because it is
a diuretic. There is additional cardiovascular stress when
using ephedra as well, due to it raising the heart rate.
Ephedra Products Claim Inaccurate
Effects
According to experts, ephedra cannot keep weight off and
there are no studies showing evidence that it will. Ephedra-containing
product makers also advertise taking the supplement will
result in increased energy but there are also no studies
showing that ephedra is beneficial to athletic
performance.
Ephedra Connections
The lack of federal government regulations regarding ephedra
has been controversial especially because the contributions
that the $17 billion a year industry has made to lobbyists
and in political donations.
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